Femme on Fire: Meaghan Rath

By Michael J. Lockhart

Photography by Gabriel Goldberg

March 14, 2012

Hailing from Montreal, Quebec our latest woman to watch is one of television’s fastest rising stars. Featured predominantly on Canadian television for most of the last decade, our new Femme on Fire has spent the last two seasons possessing souls as the sexy ghost on SyFy’s adaptation of the hit BBC series Being Human. **

Taking a break from her house-haunting duties alongside a Werewolf and a Vampire, Meaghan Rath chats with us about dealing with fans, overcoming her first sex scene, and the most terrifying creature on earth.

Playboy.com: **I was surprised at how intense the**Being Human forums can be. What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever said to you?

*Rath: *[Laughs] I try to avoid the message boards. They are so brutal, even if they like the show. You go on and there’s like three people that have an issue with the show and they dominate the boards. You can read a billion nice things and one mean thing, and that’s what stays with you all day. So I try to avoid it.

I did an interview earlier this year and they posted it online and I went and read the comments—they were so nice! I’m kind of geeky and that’s basically the fan base of the show and people are really sweet. But there were two comments that really stood out to me, first one being, “I want to fuck her in the ear.” The second was, “I don’t know what’s uglier, her shoes or her face?” Those are my two favorites: Complimentary and gross and super insulting.

*Playboy.com: *How did you get involved with the show?

*Rath: *I hadn’t heard about the UK series before. So I went home and read the scripts and immediately fell in love with the character and the story. I knew I had to be part of it. I auditioned a bunch of times here in Montreal, and then our executive producer flew in to workshop the audition with me. Then they brought me to LA to screen test and I got it!

*Playboy.com: *Did you watch the UK series before you started filming or did you avoid it like other re-makes?

*Rath: *We made a conscious decision to stay far away from it. We didn’t want to be influenced by what they were doing especially because they have such a cult following. After season one we all felt like we had established our show as something different and our characters as different people so we felt safe to watch it. Since then I’ve watch the entire series and I love it, it’s such a great show!

*Playboy.com: *Have you met Lenora Crichlow who plays your character in the original?

*Rath: *No I haven’t, which I’m surprised about. I thought we’d meet them at Comic-Con. I feel like there’s going to be some sort of wrestling match when it happens.

*Playboy.com: *Your character was known for wearing the same clothes she died in. but you started to change your clothes in season two.

*Rath: *In season two Sally gets addicted to possessing people so when I take somebody’s body I take their outfit. I get addicted to specifically possessing this girl and fucking her boyfriend. So I’m not wearing anything at all [laughs]. It all depends on who I’m possessing really!

*Playboy.com: *What would be your ideal supernatural power?

*Rath: *I’d like to fly. I think the best thing about being a ghost so far is exploring the limitations of being that, but I do like the idea of teleporting. Though I don’t think you’d get a lot of exercise popping in and out [laughs].

*Rath: *Embarrassing stuff happens to me every day! My favorite experiences are just hanging out with the guys. They are my closest friends.

*Playboy.com: *Was it awkward doing a sex scene on screen for the first time?

*Rath: *I had never done any nude scenes before, I was super nervous. I was shaking, I don’t know why! I had known these people for a really long time; I mean, I didn’t know the guy at all! [laughs] you kind of break the ice and do one take and it’s actually quite liberating and I liked it—enjoyed it.

*Playboy.com: *What do you have coming up?

*Rath: *We’re shooting season three this summer and then there’s the movie which is happening, but it’s in the very early stages.

*Playboy.com: *Is this a Being Human movie?

*Rath: *No, no…it’s for something else.

*Playboy.com: *That’s one way to get the forums to explode.

*Rath: *Yes!

*Playboy.com: *What sort of roles would you like to try out?

*Rath: *I really like roles with a lot of personality, because I feel there’s so much to work with, and so much to bring of yourself to that person. So I like a good balance between comedy and drama. I kind of feel that’s what real life is. That’s what so great about the writing on the show because in the moments of real tragedy, you make jokes and you find the light in a situation because that’s the only way to get through it.

*Playboy.com: *Is there any actresses you look up to in the business?

*Rath: *There are a lot of people. I kind of go for the funny girls. I think Lake Bell is really funny and Lizzy Caplan. I like Zooey Deschanel, especially in her indie days.

*Playboy.com: *What was your first time reading Playboy?

*Rath: *I don’t remember the first time I ever read one…I don’t know if I actually have read one, cover to cover! I do remember going to the convenience store as a kid and just peeking in. But now I can do it without shame because I’m an adult!

*Playboy.com: *What impresses you in a guy?

*Rath: *I like when guys don’t take themselves too seriously and kind of have this self-deprecating humor. I don’t like over confidence at all or arrogance, it’s like an immediate turn-off.

*Playboy.com: *What’s your greatest fear?

*Rath: *I don’t like puffer fish, you know those blow fish?

*Playboy.com: *Playboy.com actually has an animal ambassador program. We link up a celebrity with an animal that has a bad rap…we actually have a spot for a puffer fish ambassador.

*Rath: *That’s terrifying! I can’t even think of that.

*Playboy.com: *Really? Can you explain this to us?

*Rath: *Well ok. They’re deceiving—they trick you, they’re sneaky! You think they’re harmless then they just blow up into something awful and terrifying.